The Ocean Chose Me
by titaniumwolf14
Summary: Moana knew she had more purpose than just becoming the village chief, she was always meant for something much more. The Ocean had chosen her after all.


**Hello friends! I am aware that I have not written anything in forever, but this is one of many fanfic ideas that have come to fruition. I was able to see Moana while it was still in theaters, and the ending was still amazing although I feel like it does end sort of weird, like they're planning on making a sequel. In the mean time, this pretty much starts off of where the movie ended, and becomes a product of my own wishful thinking. :) Warning: There will be eventual MoanaxMaui, so if you don't like don't read. Please review to tell me how I'm doing so far!**

Disclaimer: I do not own Moana.

Moana felt the boat lurch slightly as she dipped her oar into the water and set the course for home. She looked back once more at Te Fiti, watching the outline of the beautiful goddess slowly recede from her vision. She thought she could just make out a small form in the shape of a hawk circling above the island, as she smiled and looked back to the endless ocean before her, with no other land mass in sight. She breathed in the fresh ocean air and felt the wind lovingly caress her face and hair. She felt elated that she would finally go home and see her parents and Pua again. Speaking of pets, she briefly opened the hatch on the deck of her boat to check on Hei Hei, seeing him fast asleep in one of the baskets. She took another moment to admire the beautiful flowers that Te Fiti had decorated her new boat with, outlining the familiar symbol of the goddesses' heart.

As Moana's journey continued, she spent her time practicing her wayfinding skills, pondering how she would teach her people, as Maui taught her. She also wondered if she would ever see the friendly demigod again, considering he had other matters to catch up on from the past 1,000 years. The ocean interacted with her regularly, bringing her some company other than Hei Hei, and every once in a while giving her boat some more speed so she could get home faster. She worried about Motunui and how they had fared in the time she was gone, and she realized her people would need to rebuild before they could sail again. She remembered the large cave where she had found her ancestor's boats, which needed to be repaired as well, before they could be ocean-ready. She pondered all of these things, and agreed to herself that her main priority is to get her people back on their feet before they could wayfind again. She hoped and prayed that the storm in her nightmare had not come true. She discussed the topic with the ocean, and it agreed with her final decision, knowing that the call of it wouldn't keep her away for long.

Back on Motunui, Tui and Sina responded to the call of one of the villagers, kneeling in front of a flower that had withered and died, seeing it come back to life before their eyes, as well as all of the foliage surrounding them. Their people's well being had been steadily decreasing over the past few weeks, many of them becoming sick and starving. There had been terrible storms, destroying most of their village, with some people losing their homes and lives in the process. Those who had survived were seekinh shelter in the chief's own _fale._ They prayed daily to the gods for Moana and her journey, begging them to bring her home safely and restore Motunui. Sina looked around to the plants being revived around her, allowing her gaze to travel to the ocean. She saw a small boat just beyond their reef and jumped up, giving a small gasp that alerted her husband, and began running as fast as possible for the beach. Once Tui came to the same realization, he started running as well, alerting the villagers around him that his daughter was finally home.

Moana held onto the line and oar to cross the reef of her home island, and as she reached the shore, her parents came running out of the trees, Moana meeting them in the middle as they exclaimed each other's names in joy, and hugged each other as if their lives depended on it. Moana felt tears come into her eyes as she looked up into the sky with a prayer of thanks to the gods that they all were alright, and the darkness had not consumed them as it had in her nightmare. As they broke from the hug she looked up at her father shyly, saying, "I may have gone a little ways past the reef," with a small giggle. Her father smiled down at her, replying, "It suits you." They looked behind them to see the rest of the village arrive at the beach, with Pua at the forefront. As soon as she caught sight of Pua she kneeled down for him to jump into her arms, laughing as the pig happily licked her face. Meanwhile, no one noticed Hei Hei starting to walk towards the surf, ever the clueless bird, but the ocean picked him up just in the nick of time by the head and directing him back in the right direction with a shove before receding once more.

The celebrations of Moana's return lasted throughout the entire night and into the early hours of the morning, with the villagers eager to hear about her adventures. Despite the days of sailing without any sleep, Moana was eager to tell them of her and Maui's feats by going into Lalotai and facing Tamatoa, and telling them of his boastfulness, even going as far to perform a rendition of "Shiny." She also explained the battles she had against Te Ka, and how she found out that it was actually Te Fiti. She mentioned that in both battles, Maui had sacrificed his hook to save her life, and how Te Fiti had ultimately forgiven him and given him a new one. The villagers were surprised to hear this, as Maui was only seen as a thief and trickster from their stories. When they asked Moana where he had gone, she simply shrugged and said, "I don't know." They spent most of the night dancing and singing until they were exhausted, and slept in the next day until the sun was high in the sky.

Moana slept for the majority of the day, considering how little sleep she had gotten while sailing. She woke up when the sun was beginning to set, and saw that her parents had already begun the repair work on the island, including planting trees and fixing some of the _fales_ that had been damaged. Despite the life being brought to the island, some of the trees were still infected and a few fales had been damaged in a storm. There were also some sick people to be tended to with the rejuvenated healing plants from the island. They worked until the end of the month, before Moana and Tui led the village down into the massive cavern where their ancestor's boats. Moana heard the gasps of awe behind her as she strode her way into the center of the cavern and addressed her people with her father by her side.

"People of Motunui," as she gestured to the massive boats around her, "these are the boats used by our ancestors to voyage across the sea over a thousand years ago, and they were forced by the darkness to stop, but now that the heart of Te Fiti has been restored, the ocean is safe to wayfind on again. We shall repair the boats, and I shall teach you as the demigod Maui taught me the skills of wayfinding. We are descended from voyagers, and we shall voyage again!" With her cry, she raised her beloved oar into the air, as her people took up her cry in response. She told them the story of the ancestors depicted in the sails, using the same words that her Gramma Tala had used before she passed. She told them of her experience after the first battle, and how her grandmother's spirit had visited her in the form of a sting ray. She sang for them the song of the ancestors, recounting their love for voyaging and how they used to read the sun, wind, and stars to show them the way. Finally, they used ropes to heave the boats through the waterfall, into the cove, many people cheering as they brought the biggest one out. As Moana watched them work together, her attention was drawn to the ocean slightly receding, revealing a beautiful conch shell. She immediately picked it up, knowing exactly what she would do with it when the time came. Using the materials they found in the hatches and with Moana's careful instructions, they repaired the boats back to their former glory. At the same time, Moana taught them the basics of wayfinding on the island, including how to tie a knot, and read the sun during the day and the stars at night. All of the repair work and training took approximately a month, as they decided for a portion of the village to stay behind, led by one of the elders, while the rest of the village would travel to find other islands to possibly settle on.

Another six months were spent on preparation for the upcoming journey, as they stockpiled food and supplies, as well as gathering all their belongings to settle on the new island and Moana gave more lessons to the soon-to-be voyagers. The night before the journey happened to be the same day as Moana's 17th birthday, where she gave her official announcement that she would be proudly taking her place as chief on the new island, her parents watching proudly. In the morning, all the villagers got up early for the final preparations, including changing into their new outfits which were more durable than their usual clothes, and included more decorations. Moana wore a flower tiara, similar to Te Fiti's, while Tui wore a ceremonial headdress. Both Pua and Hei Hei would go with them, as the playful pig had gotten over his fear of water over the months of preparation and training. They set off just a couple of hours after the sun had risen. The last thing Moana did before they left was take the conch shell up to the sacred place of the chiefs, and set it down on the rock pile, as her symbol of leadership.

Moana walked up to the main deck of the lead ship from checking on the rowers to her father, who manned the steering of the massive boat. She proudly stood on the deck and smiled as she inspected the beautifully decorated sail, checking for tears in the stitching. She noticed that her father was a smidge off course, and gently corrected him with a smile and a point in the sky for him to follow. She joined her mother in tying the knots, before she swung down on one of the lines to check the current, and a beautiful sting ray caressed her palm for a moment. Moana knew it was Tala, and she smiled lovingly as the sea creature disappeared to the ocean's depths. She climbed up the main mast of the ship, looking back to see Motunui becoming a shadow on the horizon, and proudly checking on all the boats behind her, to make sure that none of them were off course or left behind. A flash of movement in the sky caught her eye, a form in the shape of a giant hawk flying towards her quickly. As the hawk came closer, she recognized the hawk's hair and tattoo designs as Maui. She gave a small gasp as he flew past her, her eyes staying locked on him as he gave her a small wink and a screech. She climbed back down to the front of the boat, hanging by one of the lines and looking to the horizon with a smile on her face.

She saw Maui again a couple days later, now flying directed towards her, close to the ocean. As he passed her he came so close that she slightly ducked to avoid his wing, looking back in surprise to see him land on the deck of the boat before transforming into his human form. She immediately ran to him, enveloping him in a bear hug as he chuckled "Miss me already, princess?" Moana replied, "Wouldn't you like to know?" as she pulled away and punched him in the arm. He feigned pain before bursting out laughing, and using his giant hand to muss up her hair. "Looks like the princess finally got her tiara," earning a glare from said island princess. They both turned at the sound of a cough from behind them, seeing Tui and Sina as well as the other villagers on the boat watching their exchange with varied looks of surprise and confusion, before Tui intervened.

 **Another note: This might take me a little while to update, but I will! See ya next chapter!**


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